Friday, November 16, 2018

Burnout by Claire MacLeary

This excellent review is the first written by my sister, Camayo. She and I are reviewing books and working on this blog together. Thanks, Cam. See you soon!

Grateful thanks to Contraband for sending us a review copy of this book.


Burnout by Claire MacLeary. March 2018. Contraband. £8.99. 288 pages. Paperback. ISBN 978-1-912235-11-7.
 
This book is described as a crime novel exploring sexual abuse in the era of Weinstein, Westminster and #MeToo. It’s the second novel in the series by Claire MacLeary centring around the unlikely crime fighting duo; Maggie and Wilma. Whilst I had not read the first in the instalment it did not affect my enjoyment of this story at all.
The story follows Maggie and Wilma and their growing Private Detective Agency, particularly a case with a new client who believes her husband is trying to kill her. It also follows the friendship of Maggie and Wilma, the (often strained) relationships with their families and other friends. Maggie and Wilma are very different to each other, and yet equally likeable, and a refreshing change to a mostly masculine led world of crime fighting.  
The duo fight over whether or not to take on the new client, and as the story unravels they discover that abuse needs not be just physical, but emotional or sexual as well; and in fact it’s the long term psychological toll that’s the most damaging.
I very much enjoyed this novel, both the story line covering something that is not often in crime novels and very relevant at the moment and also that the leading characters, the crime-fighting duo where a pair of older ladies. They held their own, tackled the mainstream power and dealt with abuse issues affecting women. I look forward to reading more from this author.
 
- Camayo Hyde
 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Care to Die by Tana Collins

This review was originally posted here last year. It is being bumped up before Tana’s third book is reviewed, to complete the set.

This is book number 2.


Care to Die by Tana Collins. 2017. Bloodhound Books. Paperback. £8.99. 277pp. ISBN 978-1-912175-28-4.

The second book by Tana Collins, CARE TO DIE, is certainly one that you shouldn't miss. This second in the series for recently demoted DI Jim Carruthers and his very capable DS Andrea Fletcher, is even more engrossing than the first. The book is so well written that it is impossible to guess who the murderer is and, when you do find out their identity, it comes as a big shock. Collins says it took her five years to write CARE TO DIE. Her attention to detail and the quality of the end result do justice to the amount of effort that she has put in to producing this fantastic novel.

In brief, the body of an elderly man is discovered in a nature reserve on the outskirts of Castletown, in Fife - where the series is set. The man isn't particularly well known and digging up information on why he might have been stabbed as viciously as he has proves to be difficult for Carruthers and Fletcher. To make matters worse, both of them are struggling with serious issues in their private lives - Carruthers’ brother has had a heart attack and Fletcher is having to deal with her ex after a rather unpleasant break up. It is hard for them to stay focused but then another body is discovered in the same area and it seems as if the deaths could be linked to both men having worked in a children's home that used to be on the site. Theories and potential suspects abound but when Fletcher is assaulted, and a possible link is made to old, unproven, accusations of child abuse, the pair have no choice but to put their problems aside and solve the case before any more lives are lost.

If you enjoyed ROBBING THE DEAD, the previous book in this series, then you are going to love this one! It has your mind working in over drive, trying to solve the clues and identify the murderer, but is full of clever twists and turns that mean solving the case is just as difficult for the reader as it is for Carruthers and Fletcher. A first rate novel, and one that keeps you hooked from the first page to the last, CARE TO DIE is one of those books where the story has hold of you long after you have finished reading it. So far I am greatly enjoying reading Tana Collins’ work and am eagerly awaiting her third in this excellent series.

Highly recommended.